Jordan began attending Flower Pod Newark in November 2021. His aims were to form friendships, be more sociable, meet new people and maintain independence. When he first arrived at Flower Pod Newark, he struggled to work with groups and often took his breaks outside of the classroom. He was quite shy and quiet, and tended to work alongside volunteers, rather than his peer group. Jordan attends 'Healthy Horti' and 'Seasonal Gardening'. He is also interested in improving the site for local wildlife; mowing paths through the wildlife meadow and, with his peers, setting up a camera to observe wildlife visitors to the site. Jordan has learnt new woodworking skills from our volunteer Richard and has helped build a bird hide, bird table and nesting boxes. He has shared his new knowledge with another client, showing him how to saw wood and fix screws and together they have built log edging around borders. They hope to be able to demonstrate to other clients how to make simple nesting boxes, providing Jordan with opportunity to develop mentoring skills, and to further strengthen his social skills within his peer group.

Jordan has achieved his primary aims in becoming more sociable, chatting to friends he has made during his time at Flower Pod Newark. His confidence and self-esteem have grown. He is very popular amongst his peers and likes to have a joke with them. Jordan feels more confident now to engage with people out and about in his community.

“I like coming to Flower Pod because it gets me out of the house and I meet more people. I like mowing the lawns and building things. I enjoy making friends – it makes me more confident”. – Jordan

"It has been such a privilege to work alongside Jordan over the last few years. The first project we completed together was building a few flat pack garden benches, which was fun as we tried to work out the instructions, it was very evident even then how he not only enjoyed building items but had skills in that area. The first completely self build was quite a project a composting area which we built using mainly pallet wood, but what ever we were doing from de-nailing pallets or learning to use battery tools he always brings enthusiasm. Jordan is great to work with as he likes to make a "proper job" and has an eye for perfection.

Whatever we are doing, from making a birdbox to helping to build the bird hide and compost toilet, has been a real joy. We always talk about the project before we start, initially most of the planning was down to me, but that is no longer the case. Jordan always has loads of input and ideas. He enjoys learning new skills and recently its become even more evident he can show others some of the woodworking basics. We are both looking forward to building a workshop and then being able to show other clients how to make smaller wooded items.

As for me! Becoming a volunteer was one of the best decisions I've made since retiring. It has been a real joy to mainly be at Flower Pod Newark, but also to start a birdwatching group at Southwell. Meeting so many people and becoming part of the Reach family. Many years ago I had an allotment where Flower Pod Newark is situated, in fact where the orchard is. It is so good to see how it has been transformed in such a short time from what it was. Watch this space - the staff, clients and volunteers haven't finished yet." - Richard, Volunteer